Magnetic stripe reader (MSR) assemblies may be used in point of sale terminals, such as portable handheld devices that may be used in restaurants to apply charges to credit cards. These assemblies may be subjected to harsh environments, such as dust and fluid spills. Typical MSR assemblies have a through hole to the electronics compartment, which allows the magnetic head of the MSR assembly to make contact with a swiped magnetic card. This through hole is a natural ingress point for spilled fluids to enter the electronics compartment of the terminal. It is therefore desirable to have an MSR assembly design that reduces or eliminates the ingress of fluid and fine particles.